Awakening Stillnesshttps://www.awakeningstillness.com
Craniosacral Therapy - San Francisco, Bay AreaSun, 11 Mar 2018 00:46:56 +0000en
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1The Healing Power of Altruismhttps://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/03/11/the-healing-power-of-altruism/
https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/03/11/the-healing-power-of-altruism/#respondSun, 11 Mar 2018 00:46:56 +0000https://awakeningstillness.com/?p=461Continue Reading]]>Research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology [mind/body/medicine] demonstrates the powerful health benefits, physically and mentally, of altruistic behavior. People who are altruistic enjoy better well-being, happiness, health, and longevity. Altruistic behavior is defined as the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. Performing an act of kindness for someone, known or unknown, without any thought of personal benefit or acknowledgement.

Impact on Mental Health: the positive feelings and energy that result from altruistic behavior contribute to overall mental health. By shifting focus from one’s self-focused nature of anxiety or depression by helping someone else in need leads to a change in perception of one’s health and quality of life, and a decrease in stress. Interestingly, the people that receive the service/help do not receive the same benefit as those that give it.

Improved Immune Function: Harvard psychologists studied how altruistic thoughts influence the quality of germ-fighting substances in saliva. Volunteers were shown a gentle film on gardening; the second film was a Nazi war documentary; the third was a documentary about Mother Teresa the Nobel Prize-winning nun ministering to the poor, the lepers, and orphans of India. There was no change in the immune fighting properties in the saliva of the volunteers watching the first two movies. However, by merely watching the altruistic service of Mother Teresa, an actual physical change in immune function was observed – one that could possibly help them stay healthier.

Stress Reduction: the American Psychological Association has long asserted that stress impacts the body’s ability to fight infection, and altruistic love apparently aids in the healing process by decreasing or eliminating the effects of stress. Dr. Kathleen Hall, a founder of The Stress Institute, says that “altruism creates a physiological response that makes people feel stronger and more energetic and that counters harmful effects of stress.” There is evidence to suggest that altruistic love may activate certain aspects of the relaxation response – allowing heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and hormone levels to return to normal. Altruism can help combat the effects of stress by preventing nervous system “overload.”

Pain Relief: research has shown that altruistic action stimulates the brain to release endorphins, powerful natural painkillers that make us feel better. It has been shown that the “good feeling” people get by an act of altruism are so powerful that even remembering an altruistic act from the past can trigger that same “good feeling” [pain-killing endorphin release] in the present. [A nod to quantum mechanics — there is no past, present, future – it’s all happening Now.]

The “Helper’s High”: similar in nature to the “runner’s high” experienced during exercising. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that volunteerism helps improve mood and gives a “high”. Serving and helping others may cause the release of endorphins. A secondary benefit of the healthy-helper syndrome showed that volunteers demonstrated a longer lasting sense of calm and heightened emotional well-being. Volunteers reported improvement in their own physical ills, including fewer arthritis pains, lupus symptoms, asthma attacks, migraine headaches, colds and flu.

Improved Longevity: altruism can actually help you live longer. An eight-year study in Israel of people seventy-five and older showed that those that volunteered enjoyed a reduction of one-third the mortality rate of those that did not volunteer. A study of seventy-nine long-term survivors of AIDS survived twice as long because they participated in volunteer activities.

Being “in service” to someone in need can be a life changing, and life enhancing, experience.

]]>https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/03/11/the-healing-power-of-altruism/feed/0Stress: How to Begin Engaging It to Relieve Ithttps://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/02/10/stress-how-to-begin-engaging-it-to-relieve-it/
https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/02/10/stress-how-to-begin-engaging-it-to-relieve-it/#respondSat, 10 Feb 2018 20:52:28 +0000https://awakeningstillness.com/?p=456Continue Reading]]>Stress is unavoidable in life. It is intrinsic to a human incarnation. Stress, however, it is not to be avoided “at all costs”.
In some Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions, it is believed that there is a gift inherent in the challenge [stressor] being presented. There may be something the stressful situation is trying to teach us about ourselves – physically, emotionally, or psychologically.
This is the planet of duality – up/down, left/right, forward/reverse, positive/negative, good/bad – you get the point. It is instinctual in a human to judge a situation – especially if it is negatively affecting you. If someone is emotionally self-aware, they may be able to take a neutral stance and be objective about the situation – attempting to see both sides of the problem or issue in order to evaluate the best course of action to resolve it.
In Western society, we are quick to label some situation or event as a “problem” if we are inconvenienced in any way. Labeling as such, automatically puts a negative connotation on it, and biases us to expect the worst – something to be dealt with so we can move on and get back to our important lives. In reality, it perpetuates it by not uncovering what the underlying causes are that precipitated the stress.
In Taoism, water is often used as a metaphor. Its fluidity and ability to shape itself into any form, speaks to its non-resistance to any object that comes before it. When confronted by an obstacle, a boulder for example, in the middle of a stream, the stream will always find its way – either up, over, around, or under the barrier so it can continue its journey. It is adaptable. It does not resist its circumstance.
Using the metaphor of water can be helpful in dealing with stress. The old adage of “what we resist persists” is also applicable. If we resist the opportunity to engage in the “message” the stressor is conveying, we risk repeating the scenario, again and again, until we are incapacitated by some dis-ease that can do harm. That is just how it works.
With normal stress, taking a step back, going within and asking yourself, “How is this issue [stressor] making me feel physically, mentally, emotionally, and yes, spirituality?” is a crucial first step in bringing the stress to resolution. You begin engaging your innate wisdom that will ultimately liberate you. This step is imperative if you want to get to the core of the issue and begin to heal on whatever level[s] it is affecting you. By taking a neutral stance – without judging the way you have responded – you are able to review all the components that are contributing to your dis-ease [stress].
Start your review with the most obvious area of inquiry: your physical body. How is your body responding to the stress? How’s your sleep? How’s your energy level? How’s your appetite? How’s your libido? Are you exercising? Is being physically exhausted at the end of the day considered the norm? Your answers to these questions begins the unfolding of the path to healing and resolution. Your body is providing information on what needs correction.
Next, inquire about how the stressor is affecting your mental abilities. Is your ability to think clearly being compromised? Does keeping everything in your head make you feel like your head is crammed with too much information that cannot be processed fast enough – like your hard drive needs to be defragged to use a technology metaphor? Do you berate yourself for this, vowing to get yourself more organized – more time management [another insidious trick adding to the original stressor]? Is your critical thinking capacity diminished? Again, neutral stance responses to these questions will begin unearthing the path to the core issue[s] contributing to the “source thought” about what is really going on.
Have your emotions taken a hit from this stress? Is fear at play? A huge consideration. Has your ability to keep your emotions in check been compromised? Are you more easily triggered by an insensitive or off-hand remark? Do you find yourself being overly critical of others, or more devastatingly, of yourself? Are people in your sphere of influence reacting differently toward you? Again, the answers that arise, will give more definition and contrast to the emerging picture of why you feel stressed.
On the spiritual level, have you lost your sense of being grounded and in present time? Are those dependable harbors of sanity and soul rejuvenation been shrouded by the mental fog fostered by the stress? Has your meditation or yoga practice been abandoned because “there’s just not enough time in my day”? Has the practice of spiritual self-care fallen into the brambles of your busy life?
Each of these areas must be delved into fully, and with rigor, to get to the source of the stress. Do not delude yourself in thinking that the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects are not related and intertwined in some way – they most certainly are.
Vast amounts of research in psychoneuroimmunology [mind/body medicine] show that there is a direct correlation between our emotions and physical health. The benefits of taking the time deeply exploring these four levels of our nature, and seeing how they are interrelated, will begin your liberation from the bondage of stress. Interestingly, if you begin this review in earnest, you may begin seeing a life theme emerge that keeps placing you in the same type of stressful situation in life time and again – only in a different venue with different players.
The gift hidden in the stress is for your ultimate awakening to the realization that you have experienced this feeling before in some iteration of the circumstance you find yourself in now; acknowledging to yourself that “This is Enough! and things have to change”; and having the humility of setting your ego aside and allowing your own healing wisdom to point you in a direction of a solution. More importantly, is the self-empowerment that comes from believing that you are your own agent of change.
Figuring out how life works is a life-long process. Developing tools to overcome the pitfalls, sink holes, sandbars, and seemingly insurmountable walls can make engaging with the next challenging stressor less daunting because you can apply the same methodology of self-review.
Stress is probably the most common condition that clients report when they come to see me for Craniosacral Therapy. Think of it as giving yourself a one-hour time-out that allows your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual systems to come into alignment, and in that great Stillness that arises there may dawn a deep realization on the way forward to releasing the stress holding you captive. I have seen this happen innumerable times with my clients.

]]>https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/02/10/stress-how-to-begin-engaging-it-to-relieve-it/feed/0Franklyn Sills: Foundations in Craniosacral Biodynamicshttps://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/01/27/franklyn-sills-foundations-in-craniosacral-biodynamics/
https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/01/27/franklyn-sills-foundations-in-craniosacral-biodynamics/#respondSat, 27 Jan 2018 23:48:17 +0000https://awakeningstillness.com/?p=452Continue Reading]]>The renowned Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, Franklyn Sills, speaks about The Experience of Stillness in his seminal book, Foundations in Craniosacral Biodynamics Volumes 1 and 2.
In a state of stillness, dramatic changes can occur. When the client reaches a stillpoint in their session, the quality of that stillness can allow them to access one of the Seven Depths of Stillness. The first three levels relate to the dynamics of the autonomic nervous system, the limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. Levels four through seven, delve into the depths of the human psyche. An experience on any of these levels can be quite profound for the client and can be life changing.
1. The Physical Level
” There is a deepening sense of stillness in the body, and physical resistance may soften and release. The system begins to reorganize toward the midline, and the autonomic nervous system may discharge shock affects – like the jolt sometimes experienced when falling off to sleep. It is a form of release.
2. The Emotional Level
” The clearing of emotional charges in the system. As the stillness deepens, a palpable sense of wellbeing arises – the limbic system is clearing emotional imbalances, allowing for subtle processing of held emotional energies to stream throughout the body.
3. The Psychological Level
” On this level, there is a clearing and settling of psychological patterning in the stillness. Often times, the client will have insights into their historical conditioning or past traumas, which can initiate a deep letting go and healing.
4. The Heart or Karmic Level
” At this level, the deeper tendencies of our personality system may enter stillness. This is the layer of our karmic tendencies and conditional urges. Past-life memories may arise and be given the opportunity to be stilled and processed. The client may become aware of preconscious material, and the potential for insight, clarity, and resolution can occur. Sills states, “Karmic tendencies may be resolved in a depth of stillness and sensed as a personal liberation of the heart. It manifests as a deeper sense of ease and less tendency to be driven by preconscious energies.” Often times, the person realizes that something has changed weeks or months later. A subtle shift occurs where they do not react the same way as in the past. They may feel more compassion toward others or have a growing confidence in themselves that heretofore they had not had.
5. The Mind or Archetypal Level
” At this depth of stillness, the mind begins to resonate with the archetypal influences of our reality-transpersonal experiences. Archetypal energies and images may emerge offering the opportunity to engage with the interconnectedness of life. To experience life in a holistic way. There is a “flowering of the heart” giving the client a profound sense of compassion for the human condition and the suffering everyone on the planet experiences on some level. A sense of joy arises with this realization of a universal connection with all sentient beings. A deep overarching love for humanity may be experienced.
6. The Level of Spirit
” Profound stillness and peace can be accessed at this level. The personal self is lost-issues of separation and duality dissolve into unity consciousness. Openness and spaciousness is experienced as consciousness settles into a nondual state. Some clients have a sense of cosmic consciousness-a state of Oneness.
7. Source
” This state is beyond description. The wisdom traditions have variously called this state God realization, satori, nirvana, Tao-there are other names. Emptiness and openness is at the core of this state. As Sills states, it is “the still heart of creativity itself.” Complete emptiness with the fullness of potential enfolded within it. Time is meaningless. Past, present, and future are experienced Now.
Craniosacral Therapy offers you the opportunity to dramatically shift your life if you are committed to making a change in how you experience your world. Whether it be through the lens of pain and dis-ease, rigidly held beliefs, victimization and blame, spiritual crisis, or some undefined malaise.
We all have an innate healing wisdom, which knows precisely what unwinding and release is needed in the Craniosacral Therapy session to bring you back into a state of balance and integrity with your Self.
Give yourself the gift of health and wellbeing. We all have the power to course correct in order to embark on a path of ease and grace in our lives.

I will be sharing more of Franklyn Sills’ wisdom in future blogs.

]]>https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/01/27/franklyn-sills-foundations-in-craniosacral-biodynamics/feed/0Health Is Your Birthrighthttps://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/01/16/health-is-your-birthright/
https://www.awakeningstillness.com/2018/01/16/health-is-your-birthright/#respondTue, 16 Jan 2018 20:18:01 +0000https://awakeningstillness.com/?p=425Continue Reading]]>Good health is our birthright. However, rarely does it come without effort, and a mindfulness on our part to maintain it.

We each have an innate ability to heal. If we live in a healthy environment, and hold the belief that human beings are comprised of complex, interacting systems, that are multidimensional – physical, emotional, spiritual – then we begin to get a sense that the Western Medical Model has a limited perspective. It is not comprehensive. It does not take into account the other factors – emotional or mental , for example – which may be influencing the dis-ease the body may be experiencing.

Allopathic medicine treats symptoms; whether it be though medication, chemotherapy, or surgery. Preventive Medicine – today’s model – is believed to have started in 1876. At that time, the Industrial Revolution and mechanization was in full swing. The body was viewed as a complex machine, which needed to be “fixed” if something went wrong.

Humans are impatient. They want something when they want it – especially good health when it may not be their current state. The concept of “time is money” was, an is, the motto in American commerce, and this belief influenced how healthcare was delivered – greatly influenced by the health insurance lobby. The rationale being that if I am sick, I can turn over my health issue [relinquishing your power to self-heal] to an “expert”, who can give me a pill or shot, and I can get back to work faster. Suddenly, people began listening to someone with “authority” on health, and stopped listening to their innate wisdom, which may have directed them to their local herbalist or homeopath who would take into consideration the whole constitution of the person – lifestyle, family history of illness, trauma – to determine which systems were out of balance. Usually, with one homeopathic dose, the symptoms would resolve, and the body’s systems would come back into balance without side effects. This is one modality of vibrational medicine.

In fairness to the medical profession as it is practiced today, physicians realistically do not have enough time to give adequate attention to all of their patients the way they may wish to. They have about fifteen minutes to review past medical history, make an assessment, formulate a diagnosis, and implement a plan going forward. There is scant time to develop a relationship with their patient to assess what underlying causes may be present and readily observable.

The important point to note is that people “hurt” on many levels. Western medicine only treats the physical “hurt”. The existential or emotional “hurt” is sadly left undiagnosed by the physician. The cries of a “hurt” spirit – which could very well be the source of the dis-ease in the patient, would be left for the clergyman or spiritual advisor to sort out with no consultation between the two practitioners.

Len Saputo, MD advocates for a new model of healthcare. His model suggests a multidisciplinary assessment of a patient’s health in which the patient is asked to invite to a meeting their physician, any medical specialists they consult with, their pharmacist, chiropractor, acupuncturist , or any complimentary therapy practitioner they see. Together they meet to discuss the patient holistically – from each of their perspectives – and develop a health plan for the patient to follow. Everyone is on the same page and hears the same story of the patient’s current health. The room for a missed diagnosis, or a contraindication, or a medication side effect is greatly diminished using this model.

The science of PNI [psychoneuroimmunology], or Mind/Body Health, exhaustively documents that our emotions directly influence our physical health. Tending your emotional garden – pulling out the weeds that may be choking your vitality; watering and fertilizing kindness and acknowledging the gratitude you have for your life, can be far more restorative and life-affirming than can be imagined. Having an awareness of your emotional health is as important as having an exercise routine.

The “take away”: Everyone has an innate healing wisdom which can be drawn upon at any time. The way to access this wisdom is through stillness – get quiet. Ask your higher Self, with a sincere heart, to be shown how to heal. And in that deep silence, your higher Self will instruct you, in an economy of words, exactly what the initial steps will be for you to take toward improving your health. Keep in mind that this is a practice and a process. For most people, there will not be an instantaneous recovery of health. However, if you continue to practice becoming still, querying your higher Self as to the source of your dis-ease, you will be answered, and turned in the right direction.

One last point. Your ego may not like to be usurped by the guidance of your higher Self. Most likely, it will throw up every conceivable argument as to why you should not trust this wisdom that is being presented. The chief weapon in the ego’s arsenal is fear and doubt. Resist falling into this snare. The truth is that your higher Self only has your best interests in mind. It will not deceive you as the ego can. The Self guides you into safe waters and a harbor of healing.